Notorious Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein will surrender to New York police on Friday morning on charges that he raped one woman and forced another to perform oral sex on him, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN.
According to the source, Weinstein will be charged by Manhattan prosecutors with first- and third-degree rape in one case, and a first-degree sex act in a second case. Benjamin Brafman, Weinstein’s attorney, refused to share information whether his client would turn himself in.
A law enforcement source has speculated that the release bond for Weinstein has been set at $2 million.
The disgraced Hollywood producer is also under investigation for alleged sex crimes in Los Angeles and London. Federal prosecutors in New York have started a sex crimes investigation involving him, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The charges follow a flood of accusations against Weinstein that led women around the world to come forward with accounts of being sexually harassed by powerful men. His accusers welcomed the news as a sign that the tables were finally turning — not only on him but on other accused predators.
“I, and so many of Harvey Weinstein’s survivors had given up hope that our rapist would be held accountable by law. Twenty years ago, I swore that I would right this wrong. Today we are one step closer to justice,” said actress Rose McGowan, one of the first women to publicly accuse Weinstein of assault.
“We were young women who were assaulted by Weinstein and later terrorized by his vast network of complicity. I stand with my fellow survivors. May this give hope to all victims and survivors everywhere that are telling their truths,” she said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
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